Harry Potter exhibit a magical mystery tour at Museum of Science in Boston

Thursday

Oct 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 29, 2009 at 11:04 AM

If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” at the Museum of Science in Boston might seem like paying a call on old friends – and enemies.

Margaret Smith

If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” at the Museum of Science in Boston might seem like paying a call on old friends – and enemies.

Those who’ve dreaded spending detention with Dolores Umbridge will shudder at the sight of her pink parlor, with decorative saucers depicting mewling kittens – the perfect setting for etching “I will not tell lies” on students’ hands.

Followers of the epic fantasy series can judge whether Umbridge – who temporarily ushered in a reign of terror as headmaster -- earned the title of worst instructor of Defence Against The Dark Arts at Harry’s magical school, Hogwarts.

She does have competition, such as the “celebrity” faculty member -- charming author and plagiarist Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, who brought with him important instructional tools such as his painting of himself painting a portrait – of himself.

Alas, the brocaded cape and dashing smile that made female students and their mothers sigh weren’t of much help to Lockhart when a mysterious chamber opened and threatened to unleash a monstrous force.

The exhibit brings together authentic sets, costumes, and enchanted artifacts from the series’ films to date.

Visitors can view Harry’s and his teammates’ uniforms for Quidditch – a dangerous game in which players on brooms at breakneck speed pursue goal objects that sometimes fight back.

There are the uniforms Harry and best friends Hermione Grainger and Ron Weasley wear during class, as well as their casual clothes -- a bit tattered after many an evening of hunting down werewolves and escaped convicts.

There is also the common room and dormitory of Harry’s house, Gryffindor, with curtained beds and layered tapestries with medieval imagery, in warm red and blue. A bulletin board is covered with notes, including one announcing a sale at the “joke shop” launched by Ron’s enterprising, mischief-making twin brothers, George and Fred.

Harry and his fellow Gryffindors may be the protagonists, but they are not the only characters with followers.

Admirers of the enigmatic Slytherin House – known for its most infamous alumnus, the murderous Lord Voldemort – can revel in the house’s green pennants, along with the uniforms worn by Draco Malfoy, the spoiled son of a wealthy family in Voldemort’s thrall.

The exhibit is laid out in a logical way that creates a sense of immersion, with iconic sets such as the Great Hall, illuminated by a host of levitating candles in anticipation of a magnificent Yule Ball.

The rustic hut of Hagrid – the kind-hearted giant who keeps the school’s exotic bestiary -- includes a table on which a restless egg rumbles.

The so-called Dark Forest looms with secrets that are both menacing and enticing, but perhaps best left alone except by adventurers in the mood to take on a giant spider or two or a hundred.

Most of the exhibit is strictly hands-off, but a few items are interactive. The set of the school’s greenhouse beckons visitors to pull up young mandrakes, whose roots will squeal in protest.

Hand-held audio devices provide recorded explanations of various objects, while video screens replay memorable moments from the various films, providing a context.

And context is key – the exhibit offers the most to anyone who loves the Harry Potter saga, or who at least has followed the films.

The slightly claustrophobic feel may not bode well with those who don’t enjoy confined spaces, and some of the more intense sets may unnerve young children.

Although the exhibit is a visual feast for lovers of all things Harry Potter, it’s short on science, despite the scientific disciplines – from botany to chemistry to physics – so richly present in the books and films.

(Related events are in the works that may expand more on science and the Harry Potter cosmos.)

An overt reference to science may not matter much in the end to most visitors, who will likely already be familiar with the role of botany, chemistry and physics in life at Hogwarts.

After all, how else to bewitch a snitch, or make one’s foes cough up slugs? Even a casual stroll through the exhibit may make some long to understand more about science and magic – and the peculiar, age-old bond between the two.